Repaying Federal Direct Loans

Repaying Federal Direct Loans

Although you may select or be assigned a repayment plan when you first begin repaying your student loan, you can change repayment plans at any time.

Contact your loan servicer if you would like to discuss repayment plan options or change your repayment plan. You can get information about all of the federal student loans you have received and find the loan servicer for your loans by logging in to My Federal Student Aid.

ESTIMATING YOUR PAYMENTS

Before you contact your loan servicer to discuss repayment plans, you can use the Repayment Estimator at Federal Student Aid to get an early look at which plans you may be eligible for and see estimates for how much you would pay monthly and overall.

REPAYMENT PLANS

The repayment options available for Direct Loans and Federal Family Education Loans are listed below. Visit the Federal Student Aid website for detailed information about each option.

Similar plans are often available for Federal Consolidation Loans and for loans borrowed through the Federal Direct Loan Program. Repayment option information for each loan typically is sent to you during the grace period. This allows you to review the different options and select the one that works best for you.

If you do not respond with your choice, the lender/holder/servicer will assign you the Standard Repayment Plan.

CONSOLIDATING FEDERAL DIRECT LOANS

If you have multiple federal student loans, you can consolidate them into a single Direct Consolidation Loan. This may simplify repayment if you are currently making separate loan payments to different loan holders or servicers, as you'll only have one monthly payment to make. There may be tradeoffs, however, so you'll want to learn about the advantages and possible disadvantages of consolidation before you consolidate.